By Leah Hodges Riverbend News
John Day was a founding father of Day, Fla., which is known by locals as “Day Town.” Day is believed to have moved to the area, known at the time as Brewer Lake, around 1875, after which he helped establish Brewer Lake Baptist Church. The home where the Day Heritage Center is located was the home of John Day and was the first house in Day Town, believed to have been built sometime around 1876.
On Saturday, June 5, at 2 p.m., the Friends of Day Heritage Center held their semi-annual fellowship dinner. A small group of locals met up to discuss the changes that have been made to the heritage center in the last year, as well as the changes they wish to accomplish in the coming year.
Among the changes are the addition of the Day Jr. High School bell, which was mounted outside of the center. The 26 inch bell was donated at some point in the last 20 years by an unknown donor after the school burned down in 1961. One of the changes they wish to make in the coming year is the addition of storage space for items being donated to the center. Currently, these items are being stored in a trailer on the property. While this is okay for now, it is not feasible to continue to store these valuable historical artifacts in this manner forever.
The heritage center was started by Marvin Buchanan and Elouise Green over 20 years ago as a passion project. After many conversations about preserving the history of Day, they were finally able to put their plans into place in 2017.
Buchanan and Green are passionate about preserving the history of Day Town, because it is also the history of their families. Each resident of Day is tied together by familial bonds in one way or another; many residents find themselves to be related, even if distantly, after conversing about known acquaintances. The town of Day is small, but the heart of its community is big.
The Day Heritage Center is a 501c3 charitable organization which subsists solely on donations from members. Contact Marvin Buchanan at (386) 330-4558 or Elouise Green at (386) 294-3141 to donate your time or materials. The Day Heritage Center is located at 234 NW Day Ave., in Mayo.